A Ganapathy’s death while under police custody in 2021 was due to necrotising fasciitis of the right lower limb complicated with sepsis, the Shah Alam Coroner’s Court ruled today.
However, coroner Rasyihah Ghazali said the infection was due to the negligence of Selayang police station’s personnel for failing to ensure that Ganapathy had taken his medicine and properly dressed his wounds due to diabetes.
If Ganapathy was given his medicine on time and followed the instructions to dress his wounds every day, Rasyihah said the infection could have been prevented.
“(The police) lockup should have given attention towards high-risk and (with) chronic (disease) detainee,” she added.
Rasyihah said the necrotising fasciitis of the right lower limb complicated with sepsis happened due to the serious bacterial infection on the deceased’s right leg.
However, there was no conclusive decision by the court if the deceased’s wound was caused by the police or other factors.
Family to file civil suit
After the ruling, lawyer M Visvanathan who acted for the family said they will be filing a civil suit by April.
The 40-year-old cow’s milk trader was arrested on Feb 24, 2021, to facilitate an investigation into his younger brother who was allegedly a wanted man.
On March 8, Ganapathy’s family received a call from a police sergeant informing them that he was released but admitted to the Selayang Hospital intensive care unit. He was then confirmed to have kidney problems and had his leg amputated.
After spending over a month in the hospital, Ganapathy died on April 18, 2021.
Claims of police beatings
In 2022, it was reported that the attorney-general initiated the coroner’s inquest following the allegation of beatings at the Gombak district police headquarters.
According to the police report, despite being in good health, Ganapathy had a history of diabetes and heart problems.
His family claimed that his stint in police custody led to his health deteriorating, resulting in swollen and bruised legs as though they were beaten.
His mother, S Thanaletchumy, lodged a report on March 11 regarding an allegation that her son was beaten with a rubber hose while in custody.
Following the death, then-Gombak district police chief Ariffai Tarawe said on April 30, 2021 that the initial investigation found that there was no evidence that Ganapathy died due to assault while under police custody and the deceased had never complained of being beaten by the police, either to the magistrate or the medical officer who treated him.
Lawyer K Ganesh previously told Malaysiakini that the autopsy found that Ganapathy’s death was due to severe injuries. - Mkini
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